Sustainability overview

Nephrop populations in this area are neither overfished, or undergoing overfishing.

Nephrops fisheries are managed mainly using area restrictions, a total allowable catch, effort restrictions and technical measures. However, these areas are often too large to manage Nephrops effectively. This has historically resulted in fishing vessels concentrating their effort on favoured fishing grounds in a largely uncontrolled way, leading to overfishing and depletion of some Nephrops populations in the past, like in the Farn Deeps. Therefore, scientists advise that management should be implemented at the functional unit (FU) level.

Nephrops are caught predominantly by bottom trawling. Trawling for nephrops results is associated with large quantities of bycatch. Almost 70% of whiting that is discarded in this area, is discarded from the Nephrops fishery and the Nephrops fleet is still responsible for over 30% of cod discards. This is a concern because whiting and cod populations are at very unhealthy levels (where their biomass is under Blim). Bycatch has reduced due to Real Time Closures, the introduction of square mesh panels and increased mesh sizes, however, discards continue and whiting in this area are predicted to become a major “choke species”.

You can increase the sustainability of the scampi you eat by choosing nephrops caught using creels. If sourcing trawl-caught nephrops, ask for those caught in nets with separator grids and larger meshes (80 mm is the mesh size in general use) which reduce the risk to bycatch species and discards.

Biology

Norway Lobster (also known as langoustine or scampi) live in burrows on the seabed. They are limited to a muddy habitat and require sediment with a silt and clay content to excavate burrows. Their distribution therefore is determined by the availability of suitable habitat. They occur over a wide area in the North East Atlantic, from Iceland to North Africa and into the Mediterranean, and constitute a valuable fishery for many countries. Males grow relatively quickly to around 6 cm, but seldom exceed 10 years old. Females grow more slowly and can reach 20 years old. Females mature at about 3 years. In the autumn they lay eggs which remain attached to the tail for 9 months (known as being “berried”). During this time the berried females rarely emerge from their burrows and therefore do not commonly appear in trawl catches, although they may be caught using baited creels. This habit of remaining in their burrows has probably afforded their populations some resilience to fishing pressure. Egg hatching occurs in the spring, and females emerge in spring/summer to moult and mate.

Stock information

Stock Area

West Scotland (South Minch)

Stock information

Nephrops stock assessment and management is based on a system of management units (A-R), which broadly coincide with ICES areas, and functional units (FU)(1-33), which cover the distribution of the species, particularly in relation to suitable habitat types. In part due to the difficulty of assessing stocks, which may spend significant amounts of time in burrows, a fishery independent survey method using video surveys has been developed, which uses burrow density to estimate stock biomass. This technique is now widely, though not comprehensively, used within the management units, enabling recommended TACs and management advice to be provided by ICES. Fisheries landings data are also available to augment the video survey data.

The Nephrop population in this area is not overfished or undergoing overfishing. Biomass is well above (above 1.4 times MSY Btrigger) MSYBtrigger. Fishing mortality has been increasing but still remains below FMSY.

Management

There is currently no management plan in this area. There are multiple management measures and a variety of enforcement is employed in the fishery. The main management measures include: a Cod Recovery Zone, effort management, gear restrictions (such as mesh size limits), and catch composition restrictions. These measures are subject to change under the new Multi-Annual Plan from in mid-2018. As of 2018, beam trawls and bottom trawls of mesh size 80mm and 70mm mesh size respectively, must land all catches of Nephrops, cod, haddock, whiting, saithe, northern prawns, and potentially plaice and hake in the North Sea, the West of Scotland and the Irish Sea. Fish that are below minimum size can be sold, but not for human consumption.

Whilst management measures exist in the fishery, quota management may not be wholly effective: quota is not applied at the functional unit level and therefore, the stock is at risk of overfishing. Nephrops stock assessments are conducted by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). Stock assessments are produced for 33 areas across the Northeast Atlantic, called ‘functional units’. However, management is applied to a separate 18 areas, called ‘management units’. These management units broadly overlap with the functional units, but not very effectively, previously resulting in overfishing. The North West Advisory Council has advised TACs to be allocated at a functional unit level, so that TACs are appropriate for the Nephrops in each functional unit.

The landings and discards recorded 2017 was below that recommended by scientific advice: ICES advised that catches in 2017 should be no more than 6419 tonnes, in that year, landings and discards totalled 3757 tonnes.

The mean density of Nephrops is monitored through regular surveys conducted using underwater television (UWTV) per functional unit. These along with landings data, discards data, length-frequency data from at-sea and port monitoring, are used to conduct an annual stock assessment. The Scottish Industry-Science observer sampling scheme was extended in 2017 to collect more data for FU 12 and ICES considers that current biological sampling is sufficient. The stock assessment is conducted at a functional unit level, providing the abundance and fishing mortality, relative to reference points. All landings of Nephrops that are over 12kg must be recorded in logbooks. Discards and catches of prohibited and undersized species must be recorded.

EnforcementSurveillance occurs through monitoring of logbooks and sales notes. All vessels over 10m must keep EU logbooks, but vessels under 10m are not required to do so. There is mandatory Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) for vessels over 12m length, an electronic reporting system and a vessel detection system.

In conclusion, there are multiple management measures and a variety of enforcement employed in the fishery, though the quota is not applied at the functional unit level and therefore, the stock is at risk of overfishing. However, catches are below that recommended in scientific advice.

Capture Information

Nephrops live in burrows in the seabed. Therefore, to capture Nephrops, fishing vessels use fishing gear near or on the seabed such as demersal trawls and creels. Nephrops are predominantly caught using demersal trawls.

Demersal otter trawls use small mesh-sized nets to catch Nephrops and therefore, it can be an unselective fishing gear, catching and discarding a relatively high amount of undersized Nephrops, various whitefish species and flatfish (e.g. haddock, whiting, cod, saithe, hake, plaice, lemon sole, witch, megrim and monkfish).

In the West of Scotland, a recent report by Rihan (2018), show that discards of these bycatch species are high: the TR2 fleet (70-100mm mesh) have high discard rates of cod (96%), haddock (92%), plaice (96%) and whiting (99%). The drivers to discard these species are mainly that the fish are undersized and lack of quota in the case of cod.

In particular, in area 6a, there are high amounts of whiting catches. This is a concern because whiting populations are below healthy levels (where their biomass is under Blim). Their populations are now increasing as their fishing mortality has decreased over time. Their fishing mortality has decreased particularly because the Nephrops fishery implemented emergency measures in 2010 to reduce bycatch and discards. To reduce the risk of the Nephrops fishery on bycatch, sorting grids or 120 mm square mesh panels are compulsory (EU 227/2013). Mesh sizes were increased from 100 mm to 120 mm and large square mesh panels were introduced to Nephrops nets. Despite the widespread use of larger meshes and selectivity devices, the amount of whiting discarded by boats trawling for Nephrops remains “high”. Almost 70% of whiting that is discarded in this area, is discarded from the Nephrops fishery. Whiting in this area are predicted to become a major ‘choke species’.

Cod bycatch has reduced in these fisheries, because of measures such as Real Time Closures and square mesh panels, however the Nephrops fleet is still responsible for over 30% of cod discards in this area. Cod populations are not at healthy levels in this area (biomass is well below Blim). However, Alexander et al. (2015) stated that “the removal of landings by west coast of Scotland nephrops trawlers caused little change in adult or juvenile cod biomass”. Further mitigation measures are expected to improve bycatch and discard impacts in the fishery through the GITAG (Gear Innovation and Technology Advisory Group). Text to say in all of the fields: Although the minimum size of the mesh in the nets may be small, some vessels have taken part in fishing gear trials where they use specially-designed nets to reduce their impact on bycatch and the seabed where they fish. Vessels which use these more selective nets can be rewarded by being given more quota. In Scotland, these trials include the Nephrops grid trials, for example, the Fathlie cod avoidance panel is classified as a highly selective gear. In the West Coast of Scotland (ICES 6a), vessels were required to use a 120 mm square mesh panel as part of the Scottish Conservation Credits Scheme (when it was in operation) to protect the cod stocks. British vessels are banned from using multi-trawl gears in Scottish waters.

A report by the University of Glasgow showed that elasmobranchs form around 10% of the Nephrops catch, these can include Endangered Threatened and Protected species such as spurdog. There are no data about their discards or survival rates.

Within this unit of assessment there is concern for a high likelihood of Nephrops trawling occurring in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) designated for the protection of seabed features.

Alternatives

Based on method of production, fish type, and consumer rating:
only fish rated 2 and below are included as an alternative in
the list below. Click on a name to show the sustainable options
available.

Wild capture criterion scoring overview

This system has been developed by the Marine Conservation Society to help consumers choose the most environmentally sustainable fish. For
full details, please see the full wild-capture methodology available here.

Capture method and ecological effects

Score

Impact

0

Very low impact

0.25

Low impact

0.5

Some or moderate impact

0.75

High impact

1

Very high impact or illegal

Where environmental concerns from any one criteria are so great, a ‘critical fail’ may be triggered and the fishery awarded a default red
rating. For full details, please see the full wild-capture methodology available here.

Rihan, D. 2018. Research for PECH Committee - landing obligation and choke species in multi-species and mixed fisheries - the North Western Waters. European Parliament, Policy Department for Structural and Cohesian Policies, Brussels.

What’s a sustainability range?

Many of the fish listed are caught in different ways and from
different areas of the sea. Some species are caught in a variety
of ways and this range shows that, within a species, some may be
fished sustainably whilst others unsustainably.

To find out the individual ratings for each fish click on the
ratings button next to the image.

Fish that are being assessed are shown with a question mark icon and "No Rating".

This system has been developed by the Marine Conservation
Society to help consumers choose the most environmentally
sustainable fish.

To be assessed

Seafood sources indicated as, 'To be assessed', are those that have not yet been assessed and assigned a rating or are undergoing a period
of review. These include sources previously rated by MCS for which the rating has lapsed, due to changes in the market or MCS priorities and
resources. Given that these sources are not fully assessed, the profile should not be used to infer the current sustainability of the
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ratings@mcsuk.org

Rating 1

Rating 1 (light green) is associated with the most
sustainably produced seafood.

This system has been developed by the Marine Conservation
Society to help consumers choose the most environmentally
sustainable fish.

Rating 3

Rating 3 (yellow) based on available information; these
species should probably not be considered sustainable at
this time. Areas requiring improvement in the current
production may be significant. Eat only occasionally and
check www.goodfishguide.org for specific details.

This system has been developed by the Marine Conservation
Society to help consumers choose the most environmentally
sustainable fish.

Rating 4

Rating 4 (orange) should not be considered sustainable, and
the fish is likely to have significant environmental issues
associated with its production. While it may be from a
deteriorating fishery, it may be one which has improved from
a 5 rating, and positive steps are being taken. However, MCS
would not usually recommend choosing this fish.

This system has been developed by the Marine Conservation
Society to help consumers choose the most environmentally
sustainable fish.

Red Improver

'Red improver' ratings are assigned to seafood sources which have been assessed and rated 5 (red) due to significant environmental concerns
with one or more aspects of their management, capture or production, yet credible efforts to improve these issues have been agreed through a
Fisheries or Aquaculture Improvement Project – a FIP or an AIP - and work is underway. Such projects are normally publicly listed at
www.fisheryprogress.org. MCS wants to encourage environmental improvements in fisheries and fish farms, and so does not recommend avoiding
these sources, as we normally do for seafood rated 5 (red rated).

'Best choice' fish are rated 1 and 2, Fish to Avoid are rated 5.

This system has been developed by the Marine Conservation Society to help businesses and consumers choose the most environmentally
sustainable fish.

Rating 5

Rating 5 (red) is associated with fish to be avoided on the
basis that all or most of the criteria for sustainablilty
have not been met.